From Joe Mack Crawford's Kitchen

 In one of my interviews about Joe Mack Crawford, the hero in The Little Girl in the Bayou, I stated that Mack loves barbecue. That's an understatement. Most of his meals are from his homemade grill and all meats are marinated in his special sauce. I wanted to share his recipe with you, but it's his "mystery sauce" and he doesn't give that recipe to anyone. Not even me--his creator.

Of course, any Texan worth his salt loves Mexican food, and Mack is known for whipping up a batch of Ninfa's Green Sauce. Ninfa's is a famous Mexican restaurant in Houston that Mack frequents, and Mama Ninfa created this "Green Sauce" for her customers. Mack likes to think he has the original recipe for Ninfa's Green Sauce, but it's common knowledge that the family shared a modified version of Mama Ninfa's original recipe. Modified or not ... it's still good, and Joe Mack Crawford shares it here:

Ninfa’s Green Sauce
Servings - 5-6

Ingredients

– 3 medium-sized green tomatoes, coarsely chopped

– 4  tomatillos, husked and chopped

– 1 to 2 jalapeños, stemmed and coarsely chopped

– 3 small garlic cloves

– 3 medium-sized ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced

– 4 sprigs cilantro

– 1 teaspoon salt

– 1 1/2 cups sour cream

Instructions:

Peel avocados, remove seed and place avocados in a blender. Set aside.

Combine chopped tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeños, and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to a boil (tomatoes provide the liquid). Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Remove from heat and cool slightly, then place all ingredients in blender with avocados. Blend until smooth. Stir in sour cream

Cover.

Chill.

Enjoy with your favorite chips or raw veggies.
 

Mack reminds anyone who tries the Green Sauce that it won't last more than a couple of days: one, because it's so darn good and two, because the avocados turn dark, making it look yucky.

 

 

J.R. Ferguson is a staff writer for Southern Writers Magazine and the author of The Little Girl in the Bayou. She enjoys imagining what kind of meals her characters prepare in the kitchen.

Time is Valuable!

Use your time wisely. Don't waste time. Time is precious.
Time waits for no one, it marches on, and it slips away.  There are so many time idioms! But I don't have time to list them all...

I budget my time between family, day job, and writing, for the most part. And there's never enough time in the day to get everything done I want! I have to prioritize my many projects and activities into set blocks of time. I set reminders and timers on my phone so I don't forget duties and deadlines too, because time flies when you're having fun (if you want to call work fun...) I'm sure you can relate.

When I found out the latest IWSG Anthology theme was time, the perfect story popped into my head. But I didn't know if I would have time to write it! I set all my other writing aside and gave it a shot, writing it as fast as I could. I had my beta readers take a quick look at it and edited it at the speed of light.

But after all that concentrated effort, I knew I probably still wouldn't make the deadline!

Miraculously, I was able to gather all my spare moments and put the finishing touches on my story. I sent it in the nick of time. I doubted the caliber of my hasty submission, but I crossed my fingers and began the worst aspect of time - waiting!

To my sudden surprise, I couldn't believe I'd been selected. Ecstatic was I! And it's been a whirlwind ever since. I have to praise Dancing Lemur Press for the fine job they are doing finding us promotional outlets. I'm so happy to be a part of it.

In TICK TOCK: A STITCH IN CRIME, time is a major factor in each story. Racing against time to solve mysteries, traveling through time to save a family, solving crimes in the nick of time... The time element in these stories makes them suspenseful, exciting, and readers will be anxious to turn the page. So many great authors and a wide range of stories!

In my story, RESET, the characters don't value the time they have until they gain some perspective. Luckily, they learn they can change their ways for a better future.

Twelve-year-old Casey has no time for her quirky family.
Mr. Zander has been searching his whole life for a way to save his.
When Casey walks into Mr. Zander's clock repair shop, he sees her as a prime contender and coerces her to help him. Hopefully, the machine will work this time.

I can't wait for TICK TOCK to release (May 1)!! Mark your calendars!
And thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Tara Tyler is a math teacher who writes to inspire others to follow their dreams -- anything is possible! She loves dogs, coffee, and is the lazy housewife, living in a world of boys with three sons and a coach husband. Join her for an adventure!

                                                         WHAT ARE HEROES MADE OF by Jessica R. Ferguson
?

When I learned my story, The Little Girl in the Bayou, had been accepted for publication in the IWSG Anthology, I was sitting in a hospital bed awaiting heart surgery. For an instant, it seemed like a cruel joke—after all, how would I do the edits or meet any other publishing or marketing requirements? As you can see, all worked out. I’m alive, doing well, and to the best of my ability I’m meeting my obligations. I’m thrilled to be a part of this collection.

About my hero:

Construction worker Joe Mack Crawford (known as Mack in this story) came into my life in the mid-eighties. He’s a composite of all the heroes I’ve ever known: my quiet introspective dad along with his own hero Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke; the neighbor across the street who lifted me high over his head, muscles bulging; the pastor who baptized me in our little country church, and my grandpa who always knelt beside the pew to pray. No way can I forget my handsome 6^th grade Texas history teacher—even if he did accuse me of tracing that buffalo! And of course, my husband who introduced me to Joe Mack, and did a lot of brainstorming and plotting.

Joe Mack Crawford is the type of guy who will right wrongs or die trying. So when he found a picture of a child wrapped in fish net, looking fearful, no way would he ignore it.

EXCERPT: 

He wouldn’t be able to sleep or focus on his job until he found her. The terror in her eyes screamed at him to do something. She couldn't be more than nine or ten. He wondered if she would ever smile again or if they’d already pushed her too far. He wondered if she was still alive.  

Life has a way of teaching hard lessons, and Mack knew if the kid was still alive she’d already learned the hardest at a very young age. She might never get over it.

        EXCERPT:

      He got up, paced the floor, and watched the bayou meander behind his apartment. He couldn’t get the little girl’s face out of his mind. Was she asleep now? Having a nightmare? Crying for her mama and daddy? He didn’t know whether to pray for her to be alive or pray that God had saved her by taking her home.

Mack lives in three manuscripts: two short stories and an incomplete novel, but to me he’s out there somewhere—alive and well—much more than a fictional character. He’s all the good men in my life—men who were (and are) heroes.

Where do your heroes come from? A memory? A dream? Pure fiction?

I’m anxious for you to read The Little Girl in the Bayou and meet Joe Mack Crawford. And I hope you'll like him as much as I do.

You can purchase Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime from

Amazon     B&N      Kobo    ITunes